Easel.



No. 887,767. PATENTED MAY 19, 1908.

F. M. CARR.

EASEL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 28, 1907.

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A TTORNEK UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

FRED M. CARR, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO M. W. CARR & COMPANY, OF WEST SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, A FIRM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

EASEL.

Patented May 19, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED M. CARR, of the city of Somerville, county of Middlesex, and

' back, however, is adapted to a great variety of uses, and the invention is the same whether applied to the back of a picture frame or applied in analogous way to any other thing which is to be supported in easel shape.

In the manufacture of picture frame backs or similar things, solder is quite frequently used, and the result is that the joints are apt to be imperfect and shaky, and moreover they are likely to be weak so that the structure will fall apart. This is especially so in the cheaper kinds of structures. The object of my invention is to obviate this difficulty and produce a cheap, unsoldered and par ticularly strong easel back for a picture frame or other thing.

With this end in view, my invention consists of a combination with a back or plate, of a member hinged to the back and having on its upper side an abutment to engage the aforesaid back, and on its lower side sockets into which are swaged the legs of the device.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section, of the structure embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the structure showing the hinge member in blank form and separated from the legs, and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the complete structure unattached to the back or plate.

In carrying out the invention I use a hinge member 10 which is struck up from metal in the form shown in Fig. 2, having laterally extending ears 11 with perforations 12 therethrough to' receive the pintle hereinafter de scribed, and the upper part of the hinge member 10 is shaped into a ring 13 which forms an abutment against which the back 14: strikes, and the movement of the back in relation to the hinge member and legs is thus limited. I have shown the abutment 13 in ring form because this is an attractive form easy to make, but obviously it does not matter what the shape of the abutment is so long as it has the proper relation to the back and to the member 10. The member 10 has its lower end formed into branching legs 15 which are adapted to be turned up into tubular form as shown in Fig. 3, to receive the legs 18 as presently described.

In connecting the hinge member to the back 14, the latter has opposed knuckles 16 and 16 struck up on it, this being a feature common to structures of this kind, and before the member 10is applied to the back, the ears 12 are bent inward at right angles to the body of the hinge member 10, the ears are then thrust inward opposite the knuckles 16 and 16 and the pintle 17 is thrust through the perforation and through the way formed by the opposed knuckles. The member 10 can then be bent as shown in Fig. 1 to give it the desired angle.

The easel can be provided with any suitable wire legs, although I prefer the form shown in the drawings where the legs are made of a single wire forming the two leg members 18 which are doubled over at the bottom and connected by the bracing member 19. An important feature of the invention is the manner in which the legs are swaged or flattened as shown at 20. This flattening is done before the parts 15 are bent into tubular form, and when this latter operation is done, the tubes are formed around the upper parts of the legs 18. The distance between the tops of the tubes 15 and the ears 12 is such that the flattened ends 20 form braces which snugly engage the under sides of the ears 12, and the broadening of the parts 20 prevents them from working down into the tubes 18. Consequently the whole structure while being light and cheap, is exceedingly strong. This is important because the ears 12 are liable to strain and in ordinary structures of this character frequently give way. 1

It will be observed that the blank 10 can be very easily formed, very easily united to the legs 18, and that the whole afiair can be conveniently attached to the back 14 of a icture frame, easel, mirror or other thing.

t will be further noticed that I attain the essentially desirable elements of tightness, strength and cheapness.

I have shown the tubes 15 as best adapted and easiest made for the purpose, but it will be seen that they form sockets which can be somewhat differently shaped without affecting the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A structure of the kind described, comprising a hinge member having forwardly projecting hinge ears, an abutment extending above the ears, tubular members extending below the ears, and supporting legs extending through the tubular members and having their upper extremities arranged to abut with and brace the aforesaid ears.

2. A structure of the kind described, comprising a hinge member having forwardly extending perforated ears, an abutment pro jecting upward and forming the top of the said member, tubes extending downward below the ears, and supporting legs extending through the tubes and having their upper ends broadened and arranged beneath and in close proximity to the ears.

3. The combination with the plate having hinge knuckles thereon, of the hinge member having forwardly projecting ears to aline with the said knuckles, the pintle extending through the ears and knuckles, an abutment on the upper part of the hinge member to engage the back of the plate, sockets on the lower part of the hinge member, and legs held in the sockets with their upper ends in engagement with the ears.

4. A structure such as described, comprising a hinge member having forwardly projecting ears, an upwardly extending abutment, sockets below the ears, and legs held in the sockets with their ends supporting the ears. :1

5. A structure such as described, comprising a plate having hinge knuckles thereon and a hinge member having forwardly proj ecting ears to engage the knuckles, an abutment at its upper end to engage the plate back, tubes at its lower end, and supporting legs entering the tubes and having their upper ends projecting through the tubes and broadened.

6. A structure such as described, comprising a back or plate, a hinge member having forwardly extending ears pivotally engaging the said plate, an abutment at the upper end of the hinge member, sockets below the ears of said member, and legs projecting through the sockets and having their upper ends broadened.

7. A structure such as described, comprising a hinge member having forwardly projecting perforated ears, an abutment at its upper end, sockets at its lower end, and legs extending through the sockets and having their upper ends broadened.

FRED M. CARR.

WVitnesses:

ANNIE J. B. KLINE, WILLIAM H. DAGGETT. 

